http://www.portfoliomagazinenaples.com/scott-ashley.html

Featured Artist for Fall 2011.

3 "Scott Ashley" -
and "Tom Burtonwood"
Hinge Gallery
A new West Town gallery opens with solo
shows for locals Ashley and Burtonwood as
well as selected works by Cole Pierce, Rusty
Shackleford and other artists. ~ Thu 14

Exhibit at Indiana University Northwest creating a buzz
Artist has ‘Crisis' with everyday objects

TIM SHELLBERG - Times Correspondent | Posted: Saturday, October 17, 2009 12:00 am

For Windy City artist Scott Ashley, creating art is both a means of expression and an opportunity to pursue a new craft.

"Every piece I make incorporates a different material and a different process," he said. "When I make something, I have to often learn something new, for example, like how to knit or how to weld or how to cast plastic. It's new to me and I love that way of working. I find it very freeing, because I can do pretty much anything."

Exhibiting "Crisis," a series of three dimensional works, at Indiana University Northwest's IUN Gallery for Contemporary Art, Ashley was reared in Seattle and received bachelor's degrees in sculpture and printmaking from the University of Washington. He then made his way to New York City, where he received a master's degree in new art forms from Pratt Institute.

In 2001, Ashley left the big apple for Chicago. Residing in Chicago 's Lakeview neighborhood, he has served as the assistant director of Perimeter Gallery in Chicago's River North neighborhood.

Eight of the 11 pieces that make up "Crisis" are sculpture-installation-conceptual hybrids. In these works, Ashley presents common items, including an iron, kitchen knife, carpet and dollhouse in a manner that he hopes opens viewer's minds in regard to the subject materials.

"I want them to think about the possibilities that are out there for that item," he said. "A lot of people assume things are a certain way, and I want people to come away with (the mindset that) the world is all completely subjective and things are and can be what you want them to."

"Crisis" opened at IUN Gallery for Contemporary Art on Oct. 3 and has proven a hit with viewers of the work.

"The students are intrigued by his sculptures," said gallery director Ann Fritz. "They have created dialogue, meaning if there are two people looking at the same piece, their reactions are totally different. They will come up with different opinions. From a gallery director's perspective, this is a sign of great artwork."

IUN Gallery for Contemporary Art is open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.

Scott Ashley's "Crisis" through Oct. 30

WHERE: IUN Gallery for Contemporary Art, Indiana University Northwest, 3400 Broadway, Gary